By Karen Bong
MIRI, Nov 25: There are no states in Malaysia other than Sarawak which can devote a huge amount to the annual budget of up to RM10 billion and this proves that the leadership of Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg is effective, with his distinctive strategy.
Mulu incumbent Datuk Gerawat Gala emphasised that this also demonstrated Gabungan Parti Sarawak’s (GPS) excellence in financial and economic management of Sarawak.
“Never in the history of Sarawak has the government ever approved an annual budget in excess of RM10 billion.
“But our visionary and bold chief minister, with his own strategy, has been able to do so including finding the funds to implement projects that had been cancelled and funding withdrawn by the (previous) PH (Pakatan Harapan) government,” he said when speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony for Mulu Service Centre at a hotel here today.
Within a short three years since GPS was formed in 2018, he pointed out that the government had implemented the five per cent State Sales Tax (SST) on petroleum products, established the Development Bank of Sarawak (DBOS), fully acquired Bakun hydro dam, taken back rights over oil and gas on Sarawak’s shore and formed Petros for active participation in the oil and gas sector.
“All these strategies have resulted in increasing revenue for Sarawak and which is why GPS can approve such a huge budget in the history of Sarawak,” he added.
Moreover, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Gerawat said the GPS government had spent RM5.3 billion to roll out various assistance under Bantuan Khas Sarawakku Sayang (BKSS), on top of Federal government assistance, to alleviate the burden of the people.
“Apart from that, the government also willingly spent the funds needed to implement the vaccination programme.
“There are no other states in Malaysia that allocate so much for assistance to the people compared to Sarawak,” he said.
Most importantly, Gerawat who is also Deputy Speaker, emphasised that GPS is stable and strong unlike the Federal government, which had witnessed the change of three Prime Ministers and several Menteri Besar in some states, including Sabah.
“Because of GPS’ stability, the Federal government respects and appreciates Sarawak as any party who leads the Federal government will need the support of GPS,” he said.
As Sarawak inches closer to the date of the 12th Sarawak Election which has been fixed on Dec 18, Gerawat took the opportunity to call on the people in Mulu constituency to support the leadership of Abang Johari and the GPS government which has a proven track record in bringing development and change to the people. — DayakDaily
